County sees slight rise in homicides

This year, there have been eight deaths ruled as homicides in Cleveland County.

Investigators have suspects in seven of these deaths in custody, while one still remains unsolved.

Cleveland County Sheriff's Office

The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office investigated three murders this year, and one still remains unsolved. The Sheriff's Office investigated two homicides in 2015.

Myla Oaks: Myla Oaks, 33, and her husband, Jeffery, were both shot on Jan. 27 at the entrance to Mann Court in Kings Mountain. Jeffery was dropping off their son at the bus stop that morning when, allegedly, the Oaks' neighbor, Robert Bridges came up the road and started arguing with him. Myla allegedly drove up to the altercation between neighbors and entered the argument. Soon, shots were fired. Myla died at the scene from gun shot wounds. Jeffery was taken to Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte for the wounds he sustained.

Jeffery Oaks, has lost most motor function and is still being treated for the injuries he sustained on Jan. 27, according to Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman.

The Oaks' and Bridges' had pending lawsuits against one another and had several disagreements in the past, before the incident on Jan. 27, according to reports.

Bridges, 40, is accused of the murder of Myla Oaks and the attempted murder of Jeffery Oaks. He is now out on a $500,000 bond and awaiting trial, according to Cleveland County Court Records.

Deasia Washington: The 23-year-old mother was at a party at 137 Fox Hill Drive, Kingstown, on Oct. 9, when she was struck by a bullet and killed. Washington and at least 100 other people were at this party, but information has been limited from witnesses, according to the Sheriff's Office.

No arrests have been made. Washington's death still remains unsolved.

Danny Goins: On Nov. 14, Cleveland County firefighters responded to a mobile home on fire at 410-4 Christopher Road in Shelby. While dousing the blaze, firefighters found a body. During the Sheriff's Office investigation of the scene, they determined the person in the trailer was a homicide victim. The victim was identified as the homeowner, Danny Goins.

Investigators determined Goins was shot and then the home was set on fire to cover up Goins' shooting.

Goins' son, Kyle Goins, 37, and his friend, Timmons Martin, 33, stand accused in his death. They are currently being held at the Cleveland County Jail awaiting trial.

Mario Wilson, 27, Morris Antonio Abraham, 30, and Aubre Sucato, 22, are each charged in their deaths and the shooting of Jerroid Shippy, who was also inside the home. Investigators believe this was a robbery that turned violent. Wilson, Abraham and Sucato were attempting to rob Shippy of marijuana, according to investigators.

The three remain in Cleveland County Jail under no bond.

Officer Tim Brackeen: Shelby Police Officer Tim Brackeen, 38, suffered a fatal gunshot wound, while on duty, on Sept. 10. He died two days later.

Brackeen was serving warrants on Irving Fenner Jr. related to a Cleveland County home invasion.

Fenner Jr., 24, is accused in the shooting of Brackeen. He awaits trial in Gaston County Jail, under no bond.

Donnell Edwin Murray: Donnell Edwin Murray, 28, was found in the road near 608 Lincoln St. on Aug. 17, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Murray was transported to Carolinas HealthCare System Cleveland, where he was pronounced dead.

His accused killer, 24-year-old Dricko Huskey, was found in Atlanta, Georgia, almost a month after Murray's death.

Huskey is being held in Cleveland County Jail under no bond.

Mildred Blanton: Mildred Blanton, 94, was discovered by Shelby Police beaten to death in her own home, at 513 Woodside Dr., Shelby, on June 7. Blanton's neighbors had not seen her for two days before her body was found, according to investigators.

Blanton's granddaughter, Ashley Sanders, 46, and her friend Christopher Sizemore, 24, stand accused in Blanton's death. They are currently held at Cleveland County Jail awaiting trial.

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